SWON Visits – Xavier University McDonald Library Makerspace

Cassondra and I were invited to attend the grand opening of the Xavier University McDonald Library MakerSpace. A curated collection of tools and gear to learn about, play with and make stuff with. Xavier staff have done a great job selecting items and creating an inviting place to learn and experiment. Fun and challenging at the same time. The image shows some of the gear available as well as some of the items fabricated already. Check out the mask in the upper left!

Years ago we offered a makerspace grant which Xavier won. They leveraged that win to apply for another, larger grant and won that. They won over their stakeholders with their persistence and vision; that a makerspace, open to their university community, would foster a spirit of creativity and problem solving, learning. Isn’t that what should be happening on an academic campus?

Kudos to Alison Morgan, the champion of the effort, Ken Gibson, Library Director and supporter when/where it counted and Christian Sheehy, community connector, who brought in the first liberal arts class to work in the space.

Do you have a makerspace or makerspace equipment in your library? Would you like to know what to do with it to engage more people? Do too many people seem overwhelmed or daunted by your equipment? SWON Libraries is planning a workshop in December featuring concrete programming ideas for your makerspace equipment. If you want to help with the event or want to share your successful makerspace program, contact me: Melanie@swonlibraries.org.